


A Better Lie (A Secret Message)

by TopicalAmazon (Animasta)



Series: Danganronpa's Shortest Season [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 01:25:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13559724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animasta/pseuds/TopicalAmazon
Summary: Zetsuboy: It was a really short season of Danganronpa, but at least it was unique?Toriko1022: lol trying to figure out a way to not call it awful?Toriko1022: cause it was awfulToriko1022: Seriously, who the fuck wants one of the people working on the show to mess with the game that badlyToriko1022: i dont even think she was firedZetsuboy: I know, but a happy ending where everyone survives is fun too!Toriko1022: you're just glad your waifu is still aliveZetsuboy: Your husbando is alive tooToriko1022: shut up





	A Better Lie (A Secret Message)

**Author's Note:**

> That ending was really interesting, and I know everyone was thinking that Tsumugi lied, but this is a fic as if she's not lying. Well, at least not about EVERYTHING. Also this is happy, I don't even think anyone gets hurt. Because the best part about Danganronpa is playing the bonus stages where everyone is happy and alive. I want a whole game of Ultimate Talent Development Plan.
> 
> Maybe i just want a dating sim, I d k.
> 
> Also I like Korekiyo, so if you really don't like him then you should... well, I'm not going to tell you what to do.

Korekiyo Shinguji noticed it when he first woke up, of course, but he couldn’t really understand what it was. He was used to wearing his mask. As beautiful as humanity was, they tended to be scared of uniqueness. There was nothing more unique than having your sister on the bottom half of your face, after all. It wasn’t until after Kaede stopped pushing them to do the Death Road that he got to examine it.

It seemed to be a series of small bumps that ran along his mask. Though he didn’t know the language at all, he knew they were… Braille. Did anyone there know Braille? Miu might, though he didn’t really want to involve her in this. She was too infantile to plan more than a few steps at a time, and this might be a clue that would help them escape. Maybe Shuichi? Even an insecure detective like him would know how to keep this hidden, for the time being. He didn’t particularly want to tip any of those detestable bears off…

So the next morning, he found the detective before breakfast and decided to question him. Subtly, of course. He was very good at being subtle.

“Shuichi.” He said quietly, as the boy was examining one of the locked doors, “Can we talk alone?”

“O...Okay, Korekiyo.” He said nervously, no doubt thinking he had malicious intentions. It wasn’t an all together wrong thing to assume, of course. Even if this was some sort of clue, it was unlikely to lead to anything substantial. Therefore, they might have to engage in multiple rounds of this game before they found something. Plus, Monokuma wouldn’t take any insubordination lying down.

It wasn’t even a lie that he wasn’t tempted… though not for now. It was better to wait and see. He needed to understand these people, these girls, to see if they would be good friends for his sister…

“Now, when I woke up, there was something I… noticed.” He said without inflection, “I’ve worn this guise for, as far as I know, the last year. It seems different somehow, subtly different.”

“I see.” The detective seemed to pick up on something, though maybe he was still being too subtle.

“You see, my mask is very important to me. I acquired it while I was on an expedition in the Andes, and it’s steeped in culture. Therefore, I don’t appreciate it when people try and touch it. Though, there was are times where I have to. The man was blind, you see, and liked to touch people’s faces when he first met them. Something about checking who a person was by his face. Kehehe… I don’t think he cared what the person’s face looked like, mostly if they allowed him to touch their face or not. I think now might be one of those times.” The detective seemed to be catching on to something, and furrowed his brow.

“I… My hat is very important to me. I wouldn’t dare touch your mask without offering something equally as important.” As Shuichi sat on the bed, he took his hat and offered it to him.

He took it, and made to put it on… but Shuichi made the right move. As he was bringing the hat to his head, Shuichi started touching his mask. It only took him a short while to find the bumps, and his eyes widened.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” He asked genially, “Sometimes, the blind need help. It doesn’t matter that I felt uncomfortable, I had to do it anyway.”

“I understand perfectly. In my studies, I’ve actually studied their language. It’s very… enlightening.” This was his cue that he understood Braille, and Korekiyo’s eyes shone.

Unfortunately, even if Shuichi did understand Braille, there was no way to read it without, well, taking off his mask. He was, understandably, reluctant to do it, but he felt it was necessary. Before he could offer that, though, Shuichi interrupted him.

“We should get to breakfast first. I have to talk to some people.” He said, stressing the people, “Plus, I think people might get suspicious if we’re all alone like this. Someone might check up on us.”

Ah. He was worried about the bears, and he wanted to create a distraction. It made sense, and it would even allow him some small form of privacy. He nodded and they made their way towards breakfast, eager to solve the mystery.

\------

It didn’t actually take him that long to talk some people into it. Kaede, while cowed at last night’s failure, wanted to help him with his investigation, and Korekiyo’s hint was the best he had. Kaito, as well, seemed to be eager to help. For whatever reason, he and Kaede were discussing in whispered words what they were going to do, but she held up a 5. Five minutes?

“Korekiyo, do you mind accompanying me? I wanted your opinion on this book I found in the library.” He had been searching in there the other day, but none of the books had actually interested him… but the Mastermind or the Monokumas didn’t know that, did they?

“Kehehe, of course. Lead the way.” Korekiyo’s strange and haunting laugh echoed, and they made their way down to the basement quietly. As far as he knew, everyone was still at breakfast. Though was there a reason Keebo was there…? He didn’t know that for sure, but he assumed it was just him wanting to appear as human as possible. Therefore, he wouldn’t leave first.

“I… Please, do not question what’s under my mask. I do not believe we have the time for that anyway.” Korekiyo said with a strange tone of fear in his voice, “As soon as we escape, we have all the time in the world to exchange stories.”

He didn’t have time to think before he removed the mask, and saw the bright red lipstick and… was that foundation? It didn’t matter, of course, and it wasn’t a big deal either. Though he supposed it was for Korekiyo…

What was he saying? They didn’t have a lot of time!

He ran his hands over the bumps he’d found, and it was actually fairly surprising. It was just a single sentence, a short one too.

‘Library has it, check BR.’

“Okay, here you go.” He handed the mask to Korekiyo without question and began to explain, “Okay, so… can you find any books that have two words in the title? One with B, one with R.”

“Of course.” Korekiyo sounded relieved that he hadn’t asked anything about what was underneath the mask, but what was there to ask, really? Korekiyo, even in the small time he’d known him, had fairly feminine gestures. Did he need to ask pr-

He was getting distracted again.

They began searching, and it was actually fairly easy to check. Most of the books had fairly long titles, and all he needed was two words. He’d found a couple books, though none looked too suspicious, before Korekiyo seemed to find something interesting.

“This book is highly suspicious.” He’d held a paperback copy of a book named Battle Royale, “Not only is this a paperback, of which there are scant few, but there’s something inside here that’s clearly not part of the book.”

He wants to speculate out loud, he really does, but he needs to be cautious. There’s no reason to assume they aren’t watching them now… He doesn’t know what Kaito and Kaede did, or how long their distraction was supposed to last. So he surreptitiously hid the incriminating piece of paper inside his pocket and glanced at Korekiyo’s eyes.

“We should get back to the others. They’re probably wondering where we are.” He glanced to the cameras and Korekiyo nodded, “I’ll… get back to you.”

“I think I’ll be in my room, reading.” He held up the book, “It seems fairly interesting, and more to the point, fairly reminiscent of our situation.”

He didn’t want to discuss anything further, so he merely nodded and bounded up the stairs.

\------

“So… your lab is open, right Kaede?” Shuichi asked her as he came up from the basement, “Do you mind if we check it out? I have something I want to study, and since I don’t quite have a lab yet, yours might be a good place for it. There’s something about that Piano that’s very… calming.”

She didn’t know why he’d asked her to distract the bears, but she didn’t need to. For some reason, even though they were in this weird situation, she trusted him. Maybe it was the hat? She REALLY liked his hat. Or maybe it was how kind he was. There’s no way he could kill someone. Then again, she thought that about most of them, so maybe she was just too trusting.

“Okay, I’m actually interested in checking the place too.” She said quickly, “I wonder what your lab looks like Shuichi.”

They started the way to her lab and he responded, “I don’t know. Hopefully it’d be something useful, though for all we know it’s something ironic. Some sort of crime lab, that hopefully won’t be needed.” He said that quietly, but she could tell how scared he was of that possibility.

“There’s no way it’ll happen! Yes, Kokichi is… scary… but come on, he’s like 90 pounds soaking wet!” She says flippantly, “I’m pretty sure Himiko could take him. Plus, I believe that Gonta won’t let anything bad happen. He’s a real sweetheart.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” He chuckles as they ascend the stairs, “Plus, just because we’re in this weird situation, doesn’t mean anything will happen.”

“By the way… You didn’t see our argument, did you?” She frowned with light in her eyes, “I was asking who the best Monokid was. For some reason, they really wanted to know what everyone thought.”

“So… what was the answer?” Shuichi actually looked intrigued at the question.

“Well, I thought it was Monodam, but only because he didn’t speak as much. I think the majority was behind Monophanie, actually.” She frowned, “They really seemed to care. Why would they care? They locked us in here. It seems totally crazy”

“It’s strange… Oh, this is it, right?” As they rounded the corner, he was pointing at her door. She nodded and they entered quickly.

“Hey, where’s the music player?” He asked quietly, “There’s hundreds of CDs here, right?”

“Oh yeah, it’s in back.” She cocked her eyebrow, “Um, did you want… a loud one?”

“Long too.” Her hunch was right… he wanted to talk without people hearing them. She picked out one she knew was fairly long and put it in, and waited until the familiar clinking of the keys filled the room.

“Me and Korekiyo found this in the library.” He pulled out a small slip of paper, “There was a sentence in Braille under… his… mask.” He finished awkwardly, voice almost drowned out by the music “I haven’t looked yet, but it has to be a clue. There’s no way it isn’t. Though I do wonder if the mastermind intended for us to find this…”

“I don’t know, I assume Korekiyo doesn’t know Braille, right? I don’t think that’s the case.” She questions, “Is that Braille?”

“No, this is a cypher… though a fairly simple one. I’ve done these many times, actually.” He stared at the words, and as she looked over his shoulder, she saw a strange series of letters that doesn’t make sense.

“It’s called ROT13, and it’s a simple way of hiding writing. It’s usage was popular in the early days of computing, and even now some people still use it as a way of avoiding spoilers. Basically, you take the letter and go down thirteen characters. So, for example, piano would be cvnab. It’s… I think this part is meant to be read, at least. If they were trying to hide it so that we wouldn’t read it, surely it would be more complicated.”

“Can you decipher it for me? It would take me quite a while to read through all of it, even if I do know the trick.”

“Of course…” He says distractedly as he starts writing, “I don’t know if this is something we should keep, so be prepared to memorize and dispose of it at a moment’s notice. I think… I think this is important.” She stared at him writing, and at his face becoming more and more confused, before handing the paper over to her.

She read the note quickly:

‘If you’re reading this, you figured out my note. I’m… really glad. I don’t know if you’re Kiyo or not. It doesn’t really matter. Simply put, this is for anyone reading. This killing game is actually called Danganronpa, a reality show. Everyone’s consented to their memories being taken away, either for the prize money, or… death. However… You haven’t consented to anything. You are different people. Aspects of your past have been used, but it can be argued that you’re legally different people. You didn’t consent to this. I don’t… know if our plan will work. God, I hope it does.

Love,  
Yukiko Shinguji

She finishes it and almost drops it in shock. She bends down to pick it up, and she almost falls on the floor. Her knees don’t seem to work right. When she finally stretches back up, she notices how ashen Shuichi’s face looks. If this note is real… This note can’t be real, can it?

“There’s… one way to find out.” He struggles to keep his voice level, as the piano music blares, “Korekiyo’s sister. If this note is real, than perhaps that’s his sisters name?”

“Shuichi…” She says quietly, undoubtedly unheard. He seems to have read her lips, however.

“Kaede… we have to be strong.” He moves closer to her and, hesitatingly, grabs her hand, “We have the opportunity to save everyone.” Even now, when they’re faced with such a horrifying reality, she wants to believe in him.

“You’re… you’re right.” She smiles, but she can still feel the liquid in her eyes start to burn, “We should… go visit Korekiyo.”

As they rush down towards the dorm, they pass by a few people. Kaede can’t help but wonder, if the note is real, why would all of them do this. Would willingly enter this game, knowing there’s a good chance they end up dead. Then again… was that even the right question to ask? It’s quite possible that none of them were the same people. In fact, it was even likely.

Did she want to die? Did she want to murder? Was she in such desperate need of money that she entered this game? Did she not care about her life-

“Kaede!” Shuichi called back, as soon as she ran into the wall. She was barely conscious of anything, really. It was surprising that she was able to run this long. All she could think about was a person with her face.

“Shuichi… I don’t know if I can move.” It wasn’t the pain, of course. She couldn’t help but believe in that note.

“You… have to.” He took his hat, which had been very close to flying off at multiple occasions, and put it on her head,“I… know. There are certain… things you can logically deduce. I’ve been thinking about them too.” He’s been wondering if he’s a killer. If he’s suicidal, “We have to keep going. For everyone’s sake. For our sake.”

“Our sake?”

“I’m Shuichi Saihara. You’re Kaede Akamatsu.” He tipped the hat up, and she couldn’t help but glance at his eyes, “The us, that’s right now? That’s what matters.”

“You’re… right. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to kill anyone.” She chuckles weakly as she accepts his lift, “I just want to go… home.” Wherever the former Kaede Akamatsu lived…

“Yeah.” His eyes lost a bit of their luster and she knew he was wondering what home meant too, “Well, we should keep going. I don’t like how quiet the bears are being.”

\------

“Korekiyo.” They’d been moving slower, and they weren’t as obvious, but it was clear that the bears were watching them. Of course they were… even if they’d been blaring music during that conversation, even if they’d forced the kids to debate who was the best, there was clearly video footage that showed Korekiyo’s mask coming off. Why were they waiting?

“Shuichi… did the matter resolve itself?” He asked with a knowing light in his eyes.

“I don’t have time for subtly… Do you have a sister, Kiyo? Is her name Yukiko?” He said firmly.

“...” Kiyo’s eyes moistened immediately, and his hands started shaking. It was clear that he recognized that name. That meant the note, if not 100% true, was more likely to be accurate than not.

That… worried him. He felt he’d passed a point of no return. If this were a game, he’d have gotten to the final save point before a boss. No… considering how it happened, it was more like he’d glitched his way to the final boss.

“Yes, I… Did…” He couldn’t speak, and he was absentmindedly zipping a small part of his facemask open and closed again. Kaede was momentarily confused at the sight of the lipstick, but she shook her head.

“She wrote that note we found, Kiyo.”

“No, that’s not... possible… She’s been dead… for 6 years…” He spoke haltingly, as if his mind were trying to grasp the possibility, “She’s… haunting… killing?”

“Kiyo. She’s alive. She wrote a note about it.” He motioned for Kaede to share the note, and while she had a look of suspicion on her face, she did as he asked. As Kiyo read the note, his eyes closed further and further until they got to the signature, and they closed fully. It might’ve been moments or so, or it might’ve been a half hour, but soon he’d taken off his mask and wiped off the lipstick.

“We have… people to save.” His face, unhidden by the mask, had taken on a look that could only be described as murderous. The sloppily wiped off lipstick still shown on his face, though it only made him look as though his face had been buried somewhere bloody.

“Why aren’t the bears coming?” Kaede had finally spoken up, “Seriously. This note… Must be true. If it is, why aren’t they coming to… do something?”

Shuichi’s eyes widened and said, “You mean, kill us?”

Kiyo shook his head, “Not likely, I’m afraid. If this is truly a television show, what excitement would there be in ending our lives now? If this killing game has happened before, and from… her… note, they must have.” He shuddered and continued, with a disgusted look on his face, “This must be a truncated season. So they wish to end it with a bang. I quite… suspect they want us to inform anyone.” His words, as anger-filled as they were, drew out some attention. Of course, they hadn’t actually understood any of what we were saying, but Himiko and Ryoma had left their rooms. Before telling them anything, however, we had them read the note.

Kiyo’s eyes widened before saying as the two newcomers started to read, “Of course, if my sister’s note is accurate… They might be wondering if they can kill us at all. I suspect, if this killing game is happening, that the world outside is vastly different to the one we know. Still, even then, there must be laws. Even if the land is… more bloodthirsty than we know.” He grimaced, “We should inform the others quickly. Does everyone know where everyone is?”

“Everyone?” Tsumugi entered the dorm, “I mean, I’m here, but what’s going on?”

“Okay, Shuichi… you remember the note, right?” He nods and Kiyo continues, “We should go inform everyone of the note. Kaede can stay here and pick up stragglers.”

“Yes, captain.” She saluted the tall boy, and he smirked in response. He took the note from her and left, with Shuichi following close behind.

\------

Soon, everyone had shown up to the dorm. She had to tell Himiko, Ryoma, Tenko, and Tsumugi of the note they’d found, but soon everyone had shown up, all of them with various looks of horror on their faces. The only people who didn’t were Ryoma, who seemed rather calm about all this, and Rantaro. He had a face of confusion, of course, but he seemed to be onto something.

“If this is all true… They made Korekiyo believe his sister was dead?” Kirumi asked, horrified.

“It’s even worse than that…” He struggled with something for a bit before saying, “They seem to have given me a desire to kill… to kill girls as friends for my sister, whom my memories tell me I loved as more than brother and sister ought to.” He sat down at his chair at the breakfast hall, his eyes downcast. His face was shaking, though none of them could see it through his long hair.

“That’s… awful. Totally awful.” Tenko responded, slowly moving closer to him, “Tenko has a burning desire to hurt all degenerate males. Tenko wonders… if our personalities, were chosen out of irony.” She shuffles closer to him and awkwardly rests her arm on his shoulder.

“What makes you say that?” Maki asks quietly. She hasn’t stopped rubbing her nails against her skin.

“Tenko… Tenko has…” She chokes up for a bit before continuing, “Tenko has… boy… parts. It disturbs… I...”

“That’s… horrible, Tenko.” Tsumugi moves to the chair besides Tenko and grasps her gently, “I can’t believe they’d do something like that.”

“I’m not quite sure it’s always that, though.” Rantaro, who’d been quietly processing up till now, “Maybe those of us with more… extreme personalities?”

“I can’t see what the opposite of Kaede would be.” Ryoma says bracingly, “Shuichi either.”

“Maybe. Or maybe I just wanted to kill myself.” She says quietly, her thoughts having been stuck on that for a while. For some reason, that’s all she can think of.

“I can’t imagine I wanted to live either. Course… I think that now.” Ryoma responds easily, “Maybe I’m a serial killer or something.”

“This is so fucked up.” Kaito hasn’t been holding together well, “I can’t… this is true, right? I believe in Kaede and Shuichi, but…”

“You doubt me?” Kiyo understands, “It’s not surprising. There is no possible way that they could’ve known her name without them being the mastermind, but if they were… I’ve said it before, but I can’t imagine they’d accept such a short season.”

“That makes more sense than anything.” Kirumi says quietly, “I’m pretty confident in saying that we can trust the three of you.”

Kiyo’s startled by this and responds, “Even after me telling you about my serial killer status?”

“It’s not accurate, is it? Your sister is alive. No, you’re just as trustworthy as they are.”

“That’s… much appreciated, Kirumi.” His eyes glisten for a moment before finishing, “Though, I suppose that does lead to the real question.”

“The mastermind?” Keebo speaks up, “I feel like that’s what we should figure out.”

“You do know you’re the most suspicious, right?” Angie responds, “Atu- Angie…” She corrects herself with an awful expression of grief on her face, “Angie thinks that it would make sense for a robot to be hidden amongst the show’s participants.”

“No, of course not! That’s robophobic!”

“SHUT UP!” Kokichi yells loudly, his small body rocking with anger, “OF FUCKING COURSE IT’S YOU!”

“Gonta don’t think… we should doubt him.” Gonta says in his usual manner, “Gonta wonders if there even is a mastermind?”

“There has to be.” Kokichi responds quickly, seemingly having come alive, “It wouldn’t make any sense. There has to be someone close to the participants, someone who can lead us without being obvious about it. I wonder… if the audience… knows who it is.” Kaede can clearly see a few people glancing at the cameras.

“It wouldn’t be fun, right?” Rantaro responds, “I think, we should be able to logically remove people as potential mastermind.”

“He’s right.” Shuichi speaks up, “I’ve been thinking that for a while. We all must’ve known about this show, right? If you were watching a show like this… You don’t want it to be obvious, right? You want people to figure it out of course, but not for a while. So the obviously suspicious people can’t be the mastermind.”

“Me, right?” Kokichi grins easily, “Why, Shuichi, I’m honored.”

“I… Not Keebo either.” Kaede responds, “I’m only saying he’s not the mastermind. He might work with them, however. He might not even have a choice.”

“That- Wait.” He looks around before saying, “That’s not wrong. I honestly know I’m not the mastermind, or even know who it is, but that doesn’t mean anything. I can be hacked.”

“If we exclude the three, plus Keebo and Kokichi… that’s still 11 people.” Tsumugi says with a frown, “That’s still a lot of people to make a random guess.”

“The mastermind… would want to survive, right?” Himiko asks quietly from the spot on the floor where she was laying, “Maybe we should switch over to… obvious victims and killers.”

Everyone turns cold at that statement, but Kaede can see Shuichi nodding. It’s the next move they need to think about, regardless of how much it might hurt certain people to think about.

“Ryoma’s obviously a victim. Just look at him!” Kokichi laughs cruelly, “You already said you want to die, right?”

Ryoma nods and says, “Maybe a little blunter than what I would’ve said, but yeah. They seem to have given me a deathwish. We still have a ways to go, though.”

“We don’t really have any other ways of narrowing down, do we? I don’t really say any other obvious victims besides Ryoma.” Keebo brings up suddenly.

“Angie. I don’t think Angie would survive.” Shuichi says in response, “If we assume it’s Japan, and we assume it’s at least as similar to the Japan we know…”

“Is Angie too not Japanese to win? Too brown?” She says with a frozen smile, “Angie thinks you are probably right.”

“Awful to think about, huh?” Ryoma says quietly.

“Yeah. Hey… Where’s Miu?” Kaede asks suddenly.

“I don’t… have anything to say.” Miu speaks up from the spot she’s been hiding in the grass, “I don’t… I don’t like who they turned me into… I don’t want…” She can’t seem to speak anymore, and she starts rocking back and forth on her butt.

“I don’t know if she’d survive. Though I can’t decide if she’d be a killer or a victim.” Shuichi considers, but kindly says, “Not that it should matter now.” Miu doesn’t seem to have heard, though whether that’s willful or not, she doesn’t know.

“Gonta’s way too stupid, he’s obviously a future victim.” Kokichi says, then laughs, “Hey, maybe someone would even manipulate you into killing someone~”

“You were thinking about doing that, weren’t you.” Maki responds with ice in her speech. She seems to be reaching for something that’s not there.

“I was.” Kokichi easily admits, “Though it’s pointless now. Hey, are you really a child caregiver?”

“...I shouldn’t have any reason to not admit it at this point, but I’m still hesitant.” She stares at her raw fingers before admitting, “Not that I’m saying anything. I think I’d survive pretty long.”

“That’s 7 left, right? Rantaro, Himiko, Maki, Kirumi, Tsumugi, Tenko and Kaito.” Shuichi considers what he just said before tilting his head, “Most of them women. Does that mean anything?”

“Not necessarily.” Tsumugi responds, “The boys just have bigger personalities.”

“I’ve… I’ve been thinking about something, actually.” Kaito says, hauntingly, “Something Tenko said at the start. About it being ironic. Someone like… Kirumi. Do you think you were a slob?”

“Perhaps.” She says it with great difficulty, “Do you think Himiko was energetic?”

“I think that’s different, actually.” Kaito responds, “It seems to be a medical condition, or something.”

“I don’t really have a lot of energy. I don’t remember ever having any.” Himiko says groggily, “Do you think that’s part of the game, Kaito?”

“Maybe… Maybe. I just don’t know, there’s something about the ironic part that sticks out to me.” Kaito says, rubbing his chin.

“I can’t imagine Tenko being the mastermind, now that I think about it.” Kaede says softly, “She was hit by the irony stick harder than almost anyone. There’s no way the mastermind would do that to themselves, plus… I’m not saying we are, but we can easily... c-c-c-check whether Tenko’s telling the truth, right?” Kaede finishes awkwardly.

“Tenko agrees. Tenko has breasts, but… a... “ Tenko swallows, “Tenko cannot imagine the mastermind doing that to themselves.”

“Oh, planning on pegging some of your ‘lovely examples of womanhood’ later?” Kokichi smirks evilly. Tenko shrieks at his comment.

“Seriously, dude, lay off.” Kaito barks, as Tenko retreats into a ball, “Why are you being so mean to people? Now, of all times?”

“I don’t know, maybe because they made me mean?” Kokichi rolled his eyes, “Seriously, you people. Have you even thought about what happens after? If we win?”

Kaede, who’d been thinking of exactly that, “If we get our memories back.”

“There’s no way I’m not a snivelling, puppy hugging moron in my other life.” Kokichi shakes his head, “I gotta get it out of my system, just in case.”

“There’s no way I’m going back. I don’t care.” Kaede responds viciously, “Whoever that… that bitch was, she’s not me. I don’t care. She willingly signed up for the killing game, and I don’t care that she’s dead.”

“Wait.” Kaito was staring at Kokichi again, but horror was filling his eyes, “If you were a super nice dude before… I think I was the… opposite.” He’s staring at his hands like they’re foreign, they shouldn’t be there.

“Let’s take Kaito temporarily off the table, in that case.” Kokichi responds without a snarky comment for once, “That leaves five, right? Himiko, Tsumugi, Rantaro, Maki, and Kirumi. Now, if I was thinking about it… Out of the five, Rantaro is more obviously suspicious than the rest. He doesn’t know his talent, right?”

“Therefore, you’d probably survive pretty long.” Shuichi finishes Kokichi’s thought, “But there’s no point in doing that if you’re the mastermind. You’d just throw suspicion on you for no good reason.”

Rantaro nods excitedly, “Right! I didn’t even realize I was still a suspect.”

“Now, let’s take these four. Let’s assume they’re all the mastermind.” Kokichi is thinking pretty loudly at this point, “Who’d make the best mastermind?”

The four girls in question were animated now. Most of them hadn’t realized they were still suspects, and they were beginning to craft their defenses.

“Wait. I just had… a thought.” Keebo suddenly interjects, “Himiko’s low energy is a good cover, right? If she’s sneaking off to wherever the mastermind goes, then-”

 

“It’s not Himiko.” Kaede says loudly, suspicion firmly planted on Keebo, “The fact that you said that so suddenly is really suspicious, Keebo. I don’t think you know who the mastermind is, but whoever’s pulling your string does. Why’d you say that so suddenly?”

“I don’t know. It just seemed to… come to me, I guess.”

“Come to you? Do robots have sudden bursts of insight like that?” Angie asks, “Angie would not know, of course. Angie is… well, Angie was made to be an artist.”

“I don’t know if that’s true, but I think there’s another reason that you said that… rather than insight.” Shuichi looks at Kokichi and nods, allowing Kokichi to continue.

“Let’s assume these three are the mastermind… I think the only obvious one is the one that’s least obvious. Kirumi is clearly too skilled to be just a maid for someone. Therefore, it stands to reason that she might have ulterior motives. Maki? She’s got a talent she’s hiding behind another talent.” He directs his glare to Tsumugi, “You? The first thing I heard from you when I met you is how plain you are. Everyone else?”

When most of them nodded, he continues, “By being so ‘plain’, you can throw suspicion off yourself. As long as you don’t personally involve yourself in murders, the only way people would suspect you of being the mastermind is by process of elimination. Just as we’re doing now. In fact, a lot of our assumptions are, well, pulled out of our ass. But we don’t have any clues.” Kokichi shrugs, “therefore, assumptions. Still, it makes a certain kind of sense, doesn’t it?”

Tsumugi’s face is the epitome of offended, “I say I’m plain because, well, I’m plain! I can’t believe that you’re using such… asinine logic!”

“That’s all we have right now.” Shuichi counters, “If we had any evidence of any of this, it’d be easier to prove, but all we have is the letter.”

“Not just that.” Kokichi adds, “The bears haven’t shown up. Their absence is very telling.”

“That too.” Shuichi nods, “So, Tsumugi? Have anything to say?”

“I’m not the mastermind.” She angrily barks, “You’re a terrible detective.”

“That… may be true, but it doesn’t matter.” Kaede responds easily, grinning, “We have three potential suspects. I think Maki and Hirumi will acquiesce to being kept on lockdown, right?”

“Of course. I know I am not the mastermind.” Kirumi says firmly, “Therefore, it’s of no concern to me that I can’t go anywhere.”

“...Fine. Not much I can do at this point anyway.” Maki shrugs coldly, “Kaito isn’t guarding me though.”

“Why not?” Kaito says with a whine.

“You creep me out.” She responds easily, “I mean, come on. Luminary of the Stars? That’s such a cheesy line that I can’t imagine the Mastermind wouldn’t twist it somewhere along the way.”

“I know, right? Plus… Miu? I mean, really?” Kokichi grins knowingly, “There’s no way a person like her would ever exist in real life. It’s so fake I can’t believe people would willingly watch her.”

Kaede only realized what they were doing while she looked at Tsumugi, who wasn’t OBVIOUSLY angry, but her nose was flaring a little. They were trying to get her to admit it. So, what better way to help than to join in?

“I know! Don’t get me started on Korekiyo!” She grins easily, not looking at Tsumugi, “That’s such a fake ass backstory! ‘Oh no I’ve almost killed 100 girls and never been caught even though I’m a highschooler’ That’s totally something that would actually happen.”

“If you think about it, the fact that I would be a tennis pro?” Ryoma snorts, gripping his candy cigarette, “Hilarious. Professional tennis doesn’t have room for someone of my height.”

“Kirumi is obviously fake as well.” Kiyo responds, “You are quite clearly way too skilled to be a simple maid. You’re clearly an assassin, or a spy or something.”

“Actually… I’m an Assassin. My backstory may be the worst of them all.” Maki looks as though a weight has lifted off her shoulders, “I used to be at an orphanage, and I got picked up by an assassin cult because I didn’t want them to take someone else. What kind of bullshit is that?”

“YOU WERE FROM AN ORPHANAGE!” Tsumugi yells angrily, “SHUT THE FUCK UP, DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO COME UP WITH ORIGINAL CHARACTERS AFTER 52 SEASONS? PEOPLE TURN OUT TO SECRETLY BE JUNKO, OR HAJIME, OR NAGITO ALL THE TIME, BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW HOW TO FUCKING MAKE NEW CHARACTERS ANYMORE! WE EVEN HAD SOMEONE SECRETLY BE HIFUMI, FOR FUCKS SAKE. HIFUMI IS LITERALLY THE WORST CHARACTER!”

“You do know that’s what we were trying to get you to do, right?” Kaede asks, still a little blown away by her angry rant that didn’t really mean much to her.

“I know!” She calms down a little, “I’m still mad at the guy who brought back Hifumi. All of you are ten times better than that motherfucker.”

“Seriously? You’re so easy to break.” Kokichi whines, “I was looking forward to torturing you.”

“By the way… You’re totally right. You joined because you and your 6 sisters lost your parents, and you’re the only one old enough to earn money.”

“Wow. How hackneyed. I’m ashamed…” Kokichi shakes his head ruefully.

“Most of you were either suicidal or homicidal, though.” Tsumugi says cheerfully, “Though I do think Korekiyo joined for this particular reason. I knew it was a mistake to let your sister influence me… Hopefully she’s getting jail time for breaking her contract. I had a feeling, though, which is why I made you so fucked up.”

Korekiyo’s fist tightened, but before he can do anything Tenko and Kaito hold him gently.

“Still, I guess this is a pretty original way to go.” She’s animated now, “We’ve had short seasons plenty of times, but none as… interesting as this. Maybe we don’t have to send Kiko to jail… She’s definitely fired though.”

“Danganronpa will continue?” Shuichi asked with an ashen face, “After this?”

“Oh, don’t worry. We only do real versions once every five years.” She reassures everyone, “Most of the time, it’s VR. Sure, we have to spend a lot of money on full time therapists, but everyone seems happy. Plus, there are only so many suicidal or homicidal teens… The world is pretty peaceful, you know? One of the biggest reasons people watch is because it’s… it’s a look into another, horrifying world. It makes them appreciate what they have, you know?” She says all of this calmly, though some of the rest still look horrified, “I think we’re done with the real ones. Sure, they get better ratings, but they’re always more trouble than they’re worth.”

“Tenko still wants to punch you.” Tenko has become more and more angry as she talks so cheerfully, “what happens to our memories?”

“I mean, you get to choose. Sure, you might lose some relationships, but…” She shrugs, “I mean, you came on for a reason, right? You didn’t like your lives as they were. Is it so wrong to just… abandon your former life and your memories? I already know Kaede wants to. Plus, we do have therapists, and people to help you reintegrate into society. We also have all of the money. Seriously, you guys won’t have to work for 40 years if you want.” She considers something before adding, “I literally live in a floating mansion, and I’m just one of the writers.”

She hears a strange chopping noise, and all of the sudden she can see a glut of helicopters descend onto the grass, next to the stationary EXISALs. Tsumugi leaps up from the chair fairly cheerfully and runs to the door.

“We’ll have plenty of time for questions, don’t worry.” She says over the deafening roar, “You beat Despair! Come on, don’t be so glum! You get to do anything you want!” As the helicopters continue to roar, she grabs Kaede by the hand and smiles a weird, knowing smile.

Kaede, despite the past two days, can’t help but smile back and be lead to the helicopters.

**Author's Note:**

> I like to imagine that everyone was secretly the exact opposite of their audition tape, because Team Danganronpa are assholes. Only assholes would work on a killing game.
> 
> I might do a sequel if I can think of it, but it's probably not gonna happen? I have to be inspired. I'm working on a fic where Sayaka is actually an esper and has a dream about the killing game, but that one is way harder than this one. I kinda wrote this in one sitting and it may have a bunch of errors because it's 3:30 am, but whatever


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